Inside Bell's Brain

Well, we made it through August, and today is the first Friday of a new month.  A perfect time for reflection as we take on another chapter in the school year.  What are your plans for your instruction this year? When planning projects and alternative assessments, remember to give students voice and choice. We want to create a generation of thinkers…not robots.  It's certainly easier on ourselves to assign the same projects/assignments for everyone...but what are our students really getting out of it?  How often does that reflect the demands of a 21st century work environment?  Our students must be able to think critically, and giving them the freedoms to do so now will give back to the world a hundred fold! 

Back again for another inspirational thought this Friday.  Have you missed the others?  No worries...just click on the label "Friday Feels" on the right side of my blog.  You can catch up on the previous ones there. Encourage a classroom dynamic of collaboration and sharing. Synergy is essential in a twenty-first century classroom.  We must be willing to let go of the illusion that we are the keepers of all knowledge in our classrooms.  It's long overdue that we empower our future leaders with the skill sets they need to be successful and solve issues that have yet to even arise.  We must also model for them how to interact with others in such a way that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.  What are you doing to encourage collaboration in your classroom?

It's time for the second edition of Friday Feels...what's on my mind this week?  Classroom management and classroom culture!  Whenever possible, even when disciplining, speak words of affirmation.  We hold the precious minds and hearts of our children in our hands.  Every one of us undoubtedly has a teacher who spoke words of affirmation and encouragement...we probably even remember those words to this day.  In fact, that teacher is probably the reason we became teachers.  But conversely, we all have that one teacher for whom nothing was good enough, who tore us down, who we dreaded seeing everyday.  Which teacher are you?

Friday Feels...a good day to think about things that inspire and motivate us, or things that get us all up in our feels, as the title would suggest.  What am I thinking about this year to stay on track?  Let me tell you... I plan to share one "Friday Feels" each week for 15 weeks, so take a peek at this week's reflection. The pace, expectations, and routines you set at the beginning of the year go a long way in determining your students’ successes and your personal and professional success as a teacher as well. These things are not instantaneous, but rather things that grow through experiences and interactions in the classroom.